When It Rains, It Pours.

So I know that it's been a while, and for that I'm truly sorry. I do have some encouraging words though and I hope that it will uplift those who need it. (pardon the fact that it happened a few months ago...)

Have you ever heard that things come in three's? Especially with difficult times or when things break down? Let's just say that these last two months have been full of three's.

I got sick back in June before our trip to the Adirondacks for a 2yr anniversary. Then the day before we left our fridge broke and so did my car. Luckily we used the small dorm fridge that I still had from college, but it wasn't big enough to save everything. :( btw, I'm so so grateful for my in-laws who were babysitting for us and who had to make do with a mini college fridge lol. 

Anyway, we got to our vacay thinkin the three were done and that we would have a peaceful time. Well half way through, Matt's right wheel tire locked while we were driving and broke...seriously.... I'm not joking with you. We almost cried. Thank The Lord that our host was so gracious and managed to help us find a mechanic and get our car there. Did I mention it is a Sunday so no one was open? But at least there was a mechanic near where we were! PTL!!! :) 

Ok so we finished of our vacay and came home and our washer broke mid cycle. So we mopped up the flood, unkinked the hose and tried again. About two weeks later it died for good leaving us with one last flood. 

But ya know what? The Lord is good and perfect and His timing is impeccable, truly. As I recounted these trials  One of my dear friends and her hubby gifted to us a washer and dryer to replace ours. We seriously couldn't be more grateful to them. 

So what did we learn from all this? 

Things don't just come in three's.

And that the Lord is faithful to provide for our needs no matter how many times we need Him and despite how big or little the "problem" is. 

Praising The Lord for His grace and mercy.

Xoxo, 

Samantha

When The Smiles Are Worth The Struggles.

Warning: There may potentially be multiple pictures of my daughter on here..so if you don't like baby pictures..good luck. 

Ok so imagine this..

There you sit exhausted, feeling bloated and fat, emotional, and starting to believe lies from the devil that you know aren't true but they are digging under your skin. 

And then the baby fusses, and fusses, and then cries. No matter what you try to do, be it a toy, feeding, holding, rocking..your precious bundle of joy ain't so happy. 

What do you do? 

Do you cry? Set the baby down and walk into another room for a minute or two? 

Do you lose your top and yell?

Some moments, no matter what I do, Lily just fusses and nothing seems to appease her. I get frustrated; I want to cry and scream and walk away. 

I just want peace...

But I have to remember that she is a precious gift, and that her fussing is the only way she can let me know there is something wrong. 

I'm not gunna lie, it's hard and I definitely don't get it right all the time. I mean, really, there's got to be a reason that we don't remember these early years right? Maybe it's a gift to the parents? Like a grace period where we can try to figure out how this all works without them remembering the frustration, the tears we both cried and the mistakes we made. That way they can trust us completely. 

What a blessing, knowing that your child loves and trusts you completely. 

Anyway, I was totally having one of those days... or weeks. I know none of you have had those right? haha just kidding. But really... I was exhausted from getting up every 3-4 hours for the last 7 months, I felt fat and bloated from the food I ate earlier which my body wasn't able to handle, and I was super emotional on top of that. 

So needless to say when Lily started fussing for no apparent reason, I was about to fall off my rocker. I was ready to lay her in the crib and go and cry in the bathroom. Just as I picked her up and started walking down the hallway she stopped crying..

 

I was like..."What in the world?" so I looked at her, trying to see what made her so happy, and as soon as our eyes met she gave me the widest grin to date. (Unfortunately I wasn't able to capture it on camera, so here's another picture of her..)

It was a two toothed baby grin that melted this heart and broke through the emotions, frustrations, and exhaustion. 

It made the struggles worth it. To see her smile like she did..I will take all the sleepless nights and dirty diapers necessary to see that smile again. 

So what about you moms? Are those baby or child or even teenager smiles worth the struggles of Motherhood? I didn't realized how captivating and rewarding their smiles are until one smile made me forget all of my frustrations and troubles. What was one of your most memorable smile moments?

xoxo,

Samantha